We report findings from an assessment of e-book user experience (search and information seeking) from usage data and user tests. The usage data showed that most reading sessions were brief and focused on certain pages, suggesting that users mainly use e-books to find specific information. The user tests found that participants tended to use default keyword search and browse the search results. Experience levels with e-books and features of e-book platforms influenced users' information seeking in e-books. The assessment results have significant implications for designing e-book features to support users' reading strategies and help libraries create a consistent user experience. Introduction E-books are being widely adopted in academic libraries as a new format for scholarly resources, largely for their apparent advantages over print books (such as storage and cost). The literature on e-books has covered an array of themes, including library adoption of e-books, acquisition models, the supply side of e-book market, promotion among users, cataloging, copyright, and digital rights management (DRM).1 These themes are useful in determining library acquisition strategies and designing e-book-related services; however, the role of e-books in users' information-seeking processes remains comparatively unexplored.While a number of studies have reported faculty's and students' perceptions and attitudes of e-books, 2 less is known on user actual behavior with and around e-books.
Structured AbstractPurpose: Online help and tutorials are an important part of library services, yet they are often studied in specific contexts and disciplines such as subject-specific research guides.The objective of this study was to examine users' common preferences and expectations of library help channels in general and online help in particular.
Methodology:We conducted a qualitative survey with 45 library users. The survey asked users how they seek library help, their preferences and expectations of online help, content format, and general help channels. We performed content analysis of survey responses.Findings: Results showed that survey participants have different prioritizations of library help channels. Half of the respondents preferred conceptual help that emphasizes concepts and underlying principles, while the other half preferred procedural (step-bystep) help or mixed. The survey also pointed to reliance by participants on expert help, even when online help was available.Value: Based on the results, we identified users' behavioral preferences, attitudes, and expectations towards library help channels and online help content. We also discussed the unique challenge of creating online help for libraries, as users have a dynamic range of help seeking preferences and mixed expectations of help content depending on the context.
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